


Touch

by cpheroux



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Edward Nygma - Freeform, Feelings, Gay, Gotham, Kissing, M/M, Nygmobblepot, Oswald Cobblepot - Freeform, edwald, pengler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 07:53:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8437450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cpheroux/pseuds/cpheroux
Summary: Sequel to Trust, in which Oswald and Edward talk about feelings. Much cuteness, some cuddles, lots of confusion. Enjoy reading!





	

Even though it was difficult to breathe the same warm air over and over again, Oswald didn’t want to stick his head out of the blanket wrapped around him. Sitting comfortably on the sofa in front of the fireplace, nothing could be heard except for the crackling of burning wood. 

Edward was sitting next to Oswald, his right arm draped over the back of the couch as he observed his friend in silence. Although the only thing he could see was a small patch of dark hair peeking out of the blanket, the brunet knew that the other man wasn’t at ease at all.

Oswald didn’t want to face Edward now that he had come down from the peak of his emotional crisis. He seemed to have realized just how much he had overreacted – if he’d tell him this, Edward would respond that no, it is normal, that it is human to have emotions… but Oswald didn’t want to hear any of his friend’s wise words, so he chose not to speak at all. He didn’t feel like listening to him, anyway. 

Oswald was so deeply lost in his thoughts that he almost jumped out of his skin when a tree branch slapped the large window of the living room. He breathed in and then sighed shakily, sniffling as he moved to sit cross-legged. 

Edward respected Oswald’s need for silence even though it was killing him not to know how the man was feeling at the moment.

He didn’t ask.

Instead of speaking, he moved the hand that was on the back of the couch and he touched the uncovered hair gently. He played with the dark strands delicately, feeling its softness under the pads of his fingers.

Oswald blinked his eyes open slowly. As a shiver traveled around the area where he was being touched, he swallowed down nervously and clenched his jaw slightly. It felt so different than his mother’s touch… he knew what a comforting touch felt like, still…

Maybe the fact that it was _Edward_ made it feel different.

It took exactly forty-eight seconds for Oswald to gather enough courage to speak, but also forty-eight seconds to find the strength to put an end to the pleasant caress. ‘’Ed, you don’t have to do this,’’ he muttered as he finally pushed down the blanket to uncover his head. 

Edward smiled softly when he saw how messy Oswald’s hair was, but it faded quite quickly when his gaze crossed his friend’s cold one. He frowned slightly. ‘’Do what?’’ he asked simply, placing his hand back where it initially was.

Oswald’s lips tightening into this typical pout of his, his eyes darting away as he looked down at the fireplace. 

Since there was no response, Edward allowed his fingers to brush against the back of Oswald’s head and he was surprised to be welcomed by a harsh nod that pulled his hand away. 

‘’This,’’ Oswald finally said. ‘’You don’t have to be like this. Caring, affectionate…’’

‘’I have always been caring and affectionate.’’

Oswald turned his head towards Edward in a swift movement. ‘’Caring, yes. _Never_ affectionate,’’ he responded bluntly. 

Edward parted his lips as to speak, but then he closed his mouth and blinked a few times. ‘’Well, I thought that it was appropriate to be affectionate now that you’ve confessed – ‘’

‘’I confessed _nothing_ ,’’ Oswald spat out defensively. 

The change of emotion shown in Edward’s face was very easily noticeable, and Oswald quickly identified it as desperation.

‘’Then what are you waiting for?’’

The watery murmur had the effect of a slap in Oswald’s face. His cheeks burned red, eyes widening slightly as he felt his heart hammering against his chest.

The maid walked by, saw the two men staring at each other, and she left without a word.

Oswald was gaping, desperate to find a way to express what he was thinking about.

Twenty-six.

That’s the number of seconds it took for him to find the right words.

‘’What if it changes everything?’’ he said in a quivering breath.

Edward shifted slightly so his body was facing the man. Without thinking, he gave a response that could be described as childish. ‘’What if it doesn’t?’’

‘’But what if it _does_?’’ Oswald insisted, his eyes watering slightly although what he felt wasn’t sadness. 

Edward licked his lips and spoke out his thoughts without hesitating. ‘’We’ll never know if we don’t give it a try,’’ he told him honestly.

Utterly confused, the shorter man moved backward a little. ‘’Ed, I didn’t even know you’re into me,’’ he told him with a questioning look. ‘’You never…’’ He blinked twice and shrugged, shaking his head slightly. ‘’… gave any sign,’’ he finally said.

Edward responded to this with a sigh and a roll of his eyes that irritated Oswald. ‘’I’m not surprised that you’ve been oblivious to it. You still don’t notice when people think you’re annoying.’’ 

That hurt, and Oswald’s face spoke for him. Edward noticed it immediately. 

‘’I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.’’

‘’Well, you did,’’ Oswald mumbled as he looked away, gazing down at the rug sheepishly.

The silence that followed quickly became unbearable for Edward. He was wondering what he should tell Oswald, knowing that a second apology might only frustrate the man. 

After a moment, the brunet moved closer to his friend as if he was making an attempt at doing something to be forgiven. ‘’Ed,’’ Oswald said in a warning tone of voice, which took Edward by surprise. ‘’Honestly, I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ve never been in a relationship before… I don’t know how it works,’’ the man added as Edward leant in slightly.

The riddler raised an eyebrow. ‘’Are you afraid I’m going to try to strangle you if we ever get in a fight?’’ he asked casually, clearly referring to the incident with Kristen.

Oswald snorted and look away with a grin. ‘’I’ve been through a lot of attempts at murder in my life. I’ve learner how to fight back,’’ he responded a bit bitterly. 

Edward’s lips drew a straight line and he tilted his head to the side a little, his left hand reaching Oswald’s cheek softly. ‘’So what is it?’’ he murmured, looking at Oswald with the most tender look he was capable of.

Oswald lost himself into the darkness of Edward’s eyes, his eyelids fluttering at the comforting touch on his cheek. ‘’I…’’ he breathed out with a nervous smile. ‘’I think I’m just freaking out because this is actually happening,’’ he explained, his fingers fidgeting with the blanket absently. 

A lovely smile stretched Edward’s pink lips. ‘’I feel the same,’’ he told him a murmur. 

Oswald batted his eyelashes a few times. ‘’You do?’’ He paused. ‘’… you don’t look very nervous to me,’’ he added uncertainly. 

Edward pressed his lips together and he looked down at Oswald’s thin ones. ‘’There’s nothing wrong with you, Oswald, if that’s what you’re worrying about,’’ he told him reassuringly. ‘’It’s perfectly normal to feel nervousness in that kind of situation. The only difference between you and me is that I keep my feelings inside. Yours take control of your subconscious, therefore your body language is different.’’

Oswald wasn’t entirely convinced he had understood what Edward had just said, so he gave him a questioning look. ‘’… so you _are_ nervous, too?’’ he asked with a slightly confused facial expression.

Edward let out a small chuckle and felt himself blush slightly. ‘’More nervous than the moment I walked in the GCPD knowing that everyone was aware that I’m a murderer,’’ he responded in a single breath. Oswald’s little laugh warmed Edward’s heart. ‘’There you are,’’ he murmured with a grin, batting his eyelashes slowly. 

As a comfortable silence fell on the room, Edward observed his dearest friend thoroughly, looking for any sign of discomfort or anything that could ring an alarm. ‘’How do you feel?’’ he asked him with a concerned look. ‘’Are you still cold? Do you need anything?’’

Oswald sighed. He couldn’t remember how many times he had told Edward to ask only one question at a time. He chose to answer the easy one. ‘’I’m not cold anymore.’’ He paused, gazing down at the fire. ‘’I feel warm,’’ he added as he looked up at Edward. ‘’Safe,’’ he said in an undertone. 

Those words had the effect of a balm on Edward’s conscience. With little hesitation, the brunet scooted even closer to Oswald, leant in and pressed a soft kiss on the other man’s lips, smiling slightly as he tasted the hot chocolate Oswald had finished earlier.

Oswald sighed contentedly, happily. It was pleasant to be kissed by someone, an _actual_ kiss, not the little peck on the lips his mother used to give him. 

As Edward deepened the kiss, Oswald breathed in shakily through his nose when the hand on his cheek slid towards the back of his neck, sending pleasant chills down his spine.

It went on for a couple of seconds before Oswald was distracted by an unexpected and incomprehensible straining in his underwear.

At a certain point, it became far too much to ignore. Although he was covered by the blanket, Oswald pulled away from the kiss reluctantly and Edward automatically noticed the redness on the man’s face.

Oswald’s breathing was heavy, his heartbeat probably uneven. Edward understood what it meant. ‘’It’s okay, don’t be ashamed,’’ said the taller man as he tugged a bit of the blanket to cover his crotch subtly. ‘’Men tend to react like this to any kind of physical attention. Completely normal. Don’t worry about that,’’ he explained in a hoarse voice.

Oswald licked his lips and swallowed down thickly, eyes darting down at Edward’s pants out of curiosity. ‘’Is it?’’ he rasped out even if he knew that the answer was obviously yes. The look his friend gave him confirmed his thoughts.

Edward’s fingers traveled back to Oswald’s warm cheek, and then he lightly pressed the pad of his thumb against the man’s bottom lip. 

Oswald’s eyelids fluttered shut for a second, then he looked up into Edward’s eyes but didn’t meet his gaze; the brunet’s attention was focused on his kiss-bruised mouth.

‘’What is it that you wanted to tell me but always seem to forget when it’s time to say it?’’ Edward asked in a murmur, now looking up at Oswald as he waited for an answer.

Oswald frowned slightly out of confusion. ‘’You already know what it is,’’ he spoke in a small voice.

‘’Don’t you want to say it?’’ Edward questioned with a tilt of his head.

A few seconds passed. Oswald had held Edward’s gaze as long as he could before turning his head with a poorly suppressed and nervous smile. ‘’I think I’m too shy to say it out loud,’’ he responded with a bit of timidity in his voice.

Edward considered him for a moment, gaze soft as he gave Oswald a sympathetic look. ‘’Come here,’’ he said in a sigh, wrapping an arm around Oswald’s shoulder and gently pulling him towards himself.

The shorter man didn’t even try to stay upright. Quite to the contrary, he let himself go limp, breathing in deeply as his body molded against Edward’s comfortably, one of his hands coming out of the blanket to rest onto the man’s stomach as he buried his face into the crook of his neck.

Edward automatically went back to petting Oswald’s thin hair affectionately, his fingertips grazing against this scalp soothingly. ‘’It’s okay. You don’t have to,’’ he told him after a little while in silence.

Tensing up a little, Oswald started to gnaw on the inside of his bottom lip nervously. He wanted to _so_ badly… but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. ‘’I don’t know where this blocking comes from,’’ he admitted.

Edward smiled. ‘’It’s psychological. It’s only because all the attention is brought to you so you can’t get it to come out. It’s a very common feeling.’’

Oswald’s eyebrows raised slightly. ‘’That makes sense,’’ he said, shrugging slightly. 

‘’Right?’’ Edward said with a bit of questioning in his voice, as if he wasn’t actually convinced of what he had just said. 

Oswald almost rolled his eyes but grinned instead, rubbing his cheek against Edward’s collarbone as he shifted to get more comfortable.

While the straining in Oswald’s pants faltered slowly, it wasn’t the case for Edward as the other man’s hand was resting low on his stomach. After months with Kristen, though, he had mastered the ability to control his urges and keep a poker face despite his uncatholic thoughts.

The maid came back at this moment, and this time, she didn’t leave. After weeks of seeing Oswald and Edward basically jumping at each other’s neck all the time in happy circumstances, she thought that it was only a matter of days before they’d finally get to the point. ‘’Mayor Cobblepot, wine?’’ she asked with her strong accent. 

‘’Yes plea –‘’

‘’No wine for tonight,’’ Edward told the woman with a forced smile, interrupting a confused Oswald that was now gaping at him with a shocked expression. How dare he refuse a nice glass of wine? ‘’Tomorrow is a big day and you have to get some sleep. I know how it is; when you open a bottle of wine, you drink it until there’s no more left. You need at least eight hours of sleep and no hangover.’’

Oswald rolled his eyes so hard it hurt. ‘’I can’t believe you,’’ he mumbled grumpily.

‘’Bed ready,’’ said the maid as she left.

‘’Very well. Thank you, madame,’’ Edward responded, then he looked at Oswald as the shorter man moved to get up. He watched him, frowning slightly when his friend stared at him with fidgeting hands. Was he waiting for him to say good night?

‘’Are you coming?’’ Oswald asked with a tad of shyness in his voice. He was trying to sound confident. How cute.

Edward’s grin somehow made him slightly uncomfortable. ‘’I think you should go to bed,’’ was his succinct response to the question.

Oswald looked puzzled. ‘’Yes, I know. Aren’t you coming with me?’’

Edward raised an eyebrow. ‘’Not tonight. You need to rest.’’

Awkward silence in which Oswald’s brain couldn’t process what Edward was insinuating. ‘’… uh…’’ he breathed out, scratching the back of his head absently.

Edward took pity on him. ‘’Enthusiasm might keep you awake for longer than necessary. I know what I’m talking about. I didn’t sleep the first time I shared a bed with Kristen,’’ he finally explained, flashing Oswald a nervous grin that sent a message. 

When he finally got the hint, Oswald flushed deep red and he blinked a few times, his lips parting as he gasped slightly. ‘’Oh, very well,’’ he said quickly, turning his head to look anywhere but at Edward. ‘’I’ll see you in the morning, then,’’ he added with a short bow of his head.

Edward smiled softly. ‘’Good night,’’ he called as he saw the other man spin around and walk towards his bedroom. He jumped internally when Oswald looked at him for a millisecond and accidentally ran into his doorframe. Smiling nervously, the shorter man turned to look at Edward, and then he disappeared behind his door.

**Author's Note:**

> Part 3?


End file.
